So here we are in March. I'm trying to organise my finances. I took out a loan hmm, maybe two years ago. Because of Spanielface becoming Piratedog and the car being constantly on life support, i'm not in a position to pay it off like I was hoping to in September.

In fact I'm almost worse off than I was before I took the loan out. But. I've been working hard at it. Thanks to flyball, I've mostly paid off one credit card (took a small dip in it to cover an unexpected outgoing in Morocco and I'd planned to use part of it for J's 40th present) but its minor. 8.99 when I get paid this month.

Another is well on the way - it was 700, i've got it down to 200. I've taken another loan out, which will cover the remainder of Original Loan and leave me 100 a month better off - oh no, it won't because the fucking council tax is now due. But I tell myself at least it wont leave me worse off. 

The goal is to lose those two small cards and then pick another (three other cards and a paypal credit limit) all of which are over a K each.

 Mother and TWMWB came back, I have a lovely new kitchen floor. My back room is almost useable. Spring is finally in the air and my garden will spring into life - i'm now a person who has daffs and crocuses in their lawn instead of bramble.

I'm still (I think this got mentioned in Oct last year's update) working on removing all the paint from the stairs so they can be varnished. My house is slowly starting to look like a house.

I spent a lot of my thirties, depressed, unable to afford food. Finances are still a HUGE HUGE worry, I still hate living at home but I've accepted my fate now and I'm going to damn well outlive him even if its only out of pure spite and I'm going to make this somewhere I want to spend the rest of my life. 

I want to go visit G next year in Thailand. I've spent nearly 10 months saving airmile points for me and J to visit for 300 each. We can hopefully book in May and then spend the rest of the time saving for hotels and adventures. 

I'd like to go away again this year but that's me living in fantasyworld and anyone who's been reading this for a long time knows, that I'm prone to disasters that are beyond my control. 

I have my next hip consultation in two weeks time, I'm not expecting the MRA that I was back in Oct, reality has sunk in and I think it'll be another pointless chat and then the waiting list for the MRA.

I don't know what else to update this with, apart from I veer from sleepless nights worrying about my life to absolute daydreams about backpacking around Thai jungles.

In the real world? God I suppose I should mention Trump being absolutely Batshit, how uneasy Musk makes me. The way it feels inevitable that we are slowly, slowly pulling towards a war, the way everything is so expensive I can barely afford to breathe.

But the sun is almost here, Spring is almost here. I'm ever so slowly going the right way financially and I'm going to carry on day dreaming because that's all I have. 

 Marrakech was awesome! I loved it! It was kinda like a toned down, more sanitised India. We did a sunrise Hot air balloon ride, amazing experience! Quad biking in the Desert - I got mine to at least 42kmph and had no control and drove straight into a bush.
We saw snake charmers and monkey handlers, and had a traditional hamman spa experience (they go EVERYWHERE with their hands!), rode a camel and had ice creams and cocktails and a fabulous time.

4 days was the perfect amount of time to do everything we wanted and made such a change from the -5 to +15! I'm very broke now and will need to be good for a bit as its J's big 40th next month and lifes expensive! 

 19 years guys! 19 years since that call. Insanity really. 

So i'm behind as always and really only doing this for my own benefit but here's my life update!

J and I are still good, two years now! Also insanity. We're going to Marrakech in a fortnight. 

I'm not doing brilliantly financially but equally I'm better than I was the last time I blogged. I paid one card off as mentioned and I'm working on another. I'd like to have paid it off and a decent dent into another by the end of the year. We'll see.

I somehow have missed the hip injury update/s. So I saw a specialist in September. He recommended me a steroid injection. Which worked until the local anaesthetic wore away and then I spent the month in more pain that before, pain sleeping, sitting, standing. It started to affect the other leg and end of Oct I actually went home from work as I couldn't concentrate on anything.

So now i'm in the queue again (April!) for a fancypants MRI with glow in the dark dye to try and see more of whats going on and then I expect after that I'll be on the waiting list for an op and God only knows if that will happen this year!

Spanieldog still manages to compete Flyball, she was out yesterday actually and her team came third and Colliedog's team 2nd.  

I saw CL for the first time in two years and she dropped the bombshell that she and UDOBF had split after 10? ish? maybe slightly more, I can't be arsed to check. Years of marriage. Wow. But it was lovely seeing her and I'd like to do it again. Such a shame everyone is so far away!

Christmas was surprisingly good. The Brat (he's 40 this year - should I give him a more age-appropriate name?) FINALLY got rid of Granddad's car that was sitting on the drive, undriven for 7 years so we could get a skip (Mother - "ooh wasn't he brave to do that, it must have been hard for him to do so" and then several days of follow up questions about if he had spoken about it at all - I mean its a car, not pulling the plug on someone's life support....)
We needed a skip as the kitchen floor decided to collapse so now there's a hole in it. And the back room has just been full of junk and shit he's pulled from other skips for years so we (I) cleared it, I cleared the cupboard under the stairs and a bit into the shed as well. 

I repainted the hallway and bathroom and regrouted the bathroom floor. I'm actually really sad about this as I did it with glittery grout and it looked amazing, until I realised I do not live the lifestyle intended and the glitter collects dog dirt and hair and is now discoloured and worse looking than before.

Sigh.

I found a sander in my tidying and my plan is over next few weeks to sand the stairs as they're half painted, half bare wood and then repaint the skirting.

Finances of course might affect this....

I spent Christmas Eve with J and his family and then on the day itself I took the dogs to Dymchurch and we went to the beach and then on a walk around the edge of Port Lymphe safari park and it was worth the climb in the mud as I got really close to giraffes!

Boxing day J and I went to Charlton and basically I've spent nearly three weeks just drinking alcohol and eating sugar to the point where real food felt like a Rustlers Burger! 

Today is first day back at work and a WFH day so a soft start although it was a shock to the system getting up in the dark! Still just the one week and then holiday! We're hoping to do a hot air balloon ride!